The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for measuring the coefficient of thermal conductivity of any material and, in particular, relates to a method and an apparatus which provide said measurement with a simple and quick operation without any pre-processing of the material to be measured.
The coefficient of thermal conductivity of a material, like adiabatic material and a heat insulating material, is an important physical factor for evaluating the characteristics of the material. However, the prior art for measuring the coefficient of thermal conductivity has the following undesirable problems.
A. The prior measuring apparatus for the coefficient of thermal conductivity is complicated in operation, and requires a skilled operator.
B. The prior measuring apparatus for the coefficient of thermal conductivity requires a long time to measure said coefficient and, further, the measured result is not accurate.
C. The prior measurng apparatus for the coefficient of thermal conductivity requires the sample to be processed in a particular shape and length, however, some materials are hard to so process and consequently, the sample for measuring is not easily obtained.
D. According to the prior art, it is difficult to insert the sample in a measuring apparatus with heat equilibrium and no disturbance of heat condition.
E. According to the prior art, it is almost impossible to measure the coefficient of thermal conductivity of some material, like concrete or structural material, which is a part of a building.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus which overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus which can measure the coefficient of thermal conductivity of any material including brick, wood, glass, concrete and plastics without any pre-processing of a sample.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for measuring the coefficient of thermal conductivity of the structural material of a building.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for measuring the coefficient of thermal conductivity, including the step of comparison between these of unknown and known materials, wherein a known material can be selected so as to be most suitable for the characteristics of the sample.